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Airchaeological fyndins in the region date tae the 12t century AD. The qualities o Naftalan ile haes been kent syne early times; Marco Polo notit them.[3] The ile in the aurie wis kent tae fowk as far as Cheenae an Indie, an wis tradit bi caravans throughoot kintras o the Near East. Modren uise o the ile haes datit tae the 1870s unner Czarist Roushie. By 1912, a Germanjoint-stock company wis foondit tae export an trade the ile, which wis usied as a treatment in the Russo-Japanese War. Research on the properties o the ile continues tae be done at Azerbaijan Medical University an the Scientific Arthritis Center o Azerbaijan.

The aurie is hame tae petroleumspas (or "ile spas"), ance popular vacation spots o the Soviet Union that are makkin a return in popularity.[4] Ile frae these spas is claimit tae be an effective treatment against psoriasis, arthritis an rheumatism.[2] At the hicht o their Soviet-era popularity, the spas in Naftalan haed 75,000 visitors a year. The combination o violent ethnic conflict in nearbi Nagorno-Karabakh an the end o Soviet-sponsored free trips brought the industry tae its knees in the late-1980s.[4] Aw but ane o the older spas wur convertit intae refugee hoosin. The naphthalene in the ile gives it therapeutic properties, however it is no clear whether it mey an aw be a carcinogen. The remainin spa, the Naftalan Therapeutic Center, haed 1,000-beds.[2] New spas are planned tae attract tourists.[4]